Although Typhoon Hagupit – known as Ruby in the Philippines – is reported to have taken only a handful of lives, for thousands of people in the country, it was still a sort of repeat of Typhoon Haiyan, which had torn through the Philippines in November 2013, leaving more than 7,000 dead or missing. “It’s déjà vu, but not the same as last year with Haiyan,” a Tacloban resident Mariano Tan Jr told the BBC.
Jesuit Social Services (JSS) recently organised the opening and blessing of the Atitjere Church, a project it co-facilitated in the Sandover region of Australia’s Northern Territory. JSS’ involvement in the project stems back to 2012, when its Central Australian team was invited to visit the Atitjere community, 215 kilometres from Alice Springs at the foot of Mount Palmer.
Jesuit Refugee Service Cambodia has released a video about its mission of accompaniment. To accompany means “To be a friend, to walk alongside, to share stories, to learn from one another, to care,” it explains.
Forty-five Cambodian children with disabilities will be running the Angkor Wat Half-Marathon on December 7 to call for the ban of cluster munitions. The children are from the Arrupe Karuna Welcome Centre, a foster home for poor children with disabilities, many caused by these explosive weapons.
An online programme to train sustainability coordinators in Jesuit schools and institutes within the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific has been launched.
How do our Jesuits universities tackle the important issue of migrant workers? How much are we Jesuits involved in improving the human dignity of migrant workers? Fr Ando Isamu SJ found himself reflecting on these questions after participating in an international conference focussed on migration issues earlier this month.
The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) has expressed “deep sadness” over the Australian government’s decision to curb the number of refugees entering the country from Indonesia. Following the decision, Australia will stop the resettlement of refugees who had registered with the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Indonesia on or after July 1.
Red, a former military man, lost his legs in 1982. The cause? A land mine – one of many the Khmer Rouge scattered in various parts of Cambodia during its rule.
At 53, Red now works with the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), counselling families who have also been affected by these explosives. On November 4, he took Bishop-elect of Salford and Auxiliary Bishop in Westminster, John Arnold, to a militarised zone at the Thai border to visit three of these families.
Jesuit Social Services in Australia has launched an initiative to assist people in the criminal justice system with an acquired brain injury (ABI). The Enabling Justice Project is a three-year initiative in the state of Victoria and is undertaken in partnership with RMIT University’s Centre for Innovative Justice. The project includes the formation of an Australian-first user group to address the overrepresentation of people with acquired brain injuries (ABIs) in the criminal justice system.
Issues of equity and sustainability in mining projects are receiving greater scrutiny from Jesuit entities and individuals worldwide through the growth of the Governance of Natural and Mineral Resources (GNMR) Network.